Something caught in his throat?

[Smudge]

Smudge has been acting like he's got something caught in his throat. He only does this in the morning when I am at home. There's no coughing. He holds his head down and tries to hack something up. When he can't get something out he might lick his lips.

Any ideas? I thought maybe he was getting choked on his vitamin. At first I thought yogurt was making him try to throw up, but that's been a week ago. I'm going to stop giving him the vitamins. He only gets a half of one (they are almost the size of a quarter, only a little smaller and thicker). He never chews anything.

I rubbed his throat for a few minutes, seeing if maybe it was the vitamin. I thought if I rubbed his neck he would swallow it. It didn't work, and he still kept acting like he was going to throw up. It's like he's trying to get something unstuck. It's not coughing.

 

[RonandJan]

Hhmmmmmm.......funny you should say something. McKinely did that twice this very morning. I didn't think too much about it then and just told him it was a hairball! (he looked insulted by the reference to being a cat!)

I will be interested in what the rest of the group says as well.

 

[Smudge]

I just got to thinking. I wonder if maybe it could be a hairball? If he's partying with the neighbor's cat (and Smudge himself being a long haired dog) I wonder if that might be it?

 

[Smudge]

I just googled it. I've never had a dog with kennel cough, but it seems logical. Smudge has been going to the vet a LOT here lately, thus exposing him to a lot of other dogs. Weak immune system + random dogs with unknown medical problems = possible kennel cough. I'm calling the vet Tuesday (Monday is a holiday) and I'll make an appointment. I read that if it's left untreated that it can cause lots of other problems. Great. Does it never end? He started this a week ago, but I thought he just choked on his vitamin.

 

[danisgoat]

I would definitely give the vet a call. Just to be on the safe side.

In the meantime.....maybe try some local honey? You can give a little bit on a spoon a couple times a day. The honey will soothe your dogs throat, and honey has disinfecting, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal and antiseptic properties. Can't beat that?

 

[mbfrench]

I know the local honey trick worked here..no more scratching,licking,and Earnhardts leg is just about healed.Amazing what it has done. Thanks to Granite for that tip! I tought it was an old wives tale,but not~

Sure hope that Smudge does'nt have kennel cough,this poor little guy has had it tough,as well as you Jess.

 

[Smudge]

After calming down I've decided it's his vitamin. I listened to kennel cough YouTube videos, and his problem is nothing like that at all. I'm going to take him off the vitamins for a few days (the Vibrant Pets should be here in a soon anyway) and see how that goes. If I take him off the vitamin and he still does it I'm taking him to the vet no questions asked. It only happens in the morning when I give him his vitamin. The other times he doesn't choke.

 

[Ann]

It's possible it was the vitamin, Jessica, and it finally dissolved. I've had my gang get biscuits stuck in various places in their mouths or near the throat in their haste to swallow them whole before Someone Else can get to it. I've had to stick a finger down the throat from time to time, dislodge it from a cheek or the roof of the mouth. It is amazing how this stuff happens. Certainly makes the case for being there when your dog is chewing anything!

 

[Caro]

Kennel cough is a really hacking cough, you would know if it was that.

Tully does 'fur ball' coughs - she licks her paws quite a bit. She has a lot of fur in her stools. And given Smudge's surgery he may have been licking a bit more than usual.

 

[romeosangiovese]

Yes, kennel cough sounds different and like Caro described is more a hacking sound and doesn't suggest anything coming out. This sound really breaks your heart. Whereas a choking sound usually ends with the dog opening his mouth really wide at the end of the episode as if to move his throat to dislodge something.

How are you giving the pill? Perhaps you can use something to wrap around the pill to entice Smudge to eat it on his own accord? There's a product I came acorss once before that looks like playdough (and comes in a similar container) but is liver flavoured. You use this to wrap a coating around the pill. Or if you're giving capsules, you can open it up and dispense the powder directly into his throat. Or stick it down right at the back of the throat, to the side.